The Daily Inclination
by Geeky Blue Strawberry
Summary: Good friends, good food, good games... and good lord, does Sheldon want Amy. One-shot.


**Author's Note: Another small ficlet, done a little differently, dedicated to the incomparable YlvaBorealis.**

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It's Chinese Food Friday in apartment 4A. Sheldon's band of misfit scientists plus Penny are seated around the coffee table, passing around cartons of fried rice and noodles, catching up on the unusually busy week everyone seems to have had. Sheldon not-so-gracefully receives the fortune cookie Raj tosses his way. He's never cared for them, but Amy likes to read his fortune and guess at the potential real world application. She's seated next to him in her unofficial, designated spot, and as soon as he breaks the cracker open, she reaches for the tiny slip of paper.

Amy silently reads from it, a grin stretching her thin lips outward, curling at the ends in he most appealing manner Sheldon can as of yet recall. He registers her informing him that "Romance will find you this year in an unusual way", which she follows up with an amusing pun about whether Sheldon's encounter with Giuseppe the turtle was love at first bite. Amy's puns are always amusing to Sheldon. He returns her smile with ease and digs into his chicken.

Later, while the boys are playing Mario Party 2, Sheldon glances to the kitchen as Bowser decides whether or not to steal coins from Howard's Waluigi. Bernadette is seated on a bar stool pouring three glasses of wine while Penny and Amy tag team the few dirtied dishes from their dinner. Amy, today having donned a maroon sweater-vest, only has to roll up the sleeves of her blouse before plunging her hands in the soapy water. She leans forward to rinse a fork, and Sheldon doesn't realize he's gulped until two full beats after the fact. He blinks and looks back to the television screen, trying to focus on the mini-game and not Amy's hindquarters.

Three rounds left in the game and Sheldon needs just one star to catapult him to first place. Something Penny says causes the low tone of Amy's voice to morph into her musical, hearty laugh, floating across the room. The sound sends pleasant shivers trickling down his spine, the reverberation calling to him, leading him to accidentally confirm the blinking arrow on the screen and bypassing the alternative path to the pixelated golden prize. It's a good thing Raj and Howard are distracted by something on the former's phone as Sheldon breathes a sigh of relief, until he glances up to see Leonard looking back at him with a funny expression. Neither of them say anything, though, and as Leonard finally focuses on his own turn, Sheldon takes the opportunity to steal another peak at his little lady. 'Is this what it's like?' he wonders, swallowing thickly, 'to desire the proximity of another so much?'

The evening winds down and Raj follows Howard and Bernadette out the door, waving their goodbyes. Leonard and Penny are cuddling and chatting on the couch as Sheldon traverses the kitchen to prepare his and Amy's tea. He asks which flavor she would prefer, and she purses her lips in thought, staring somewhere above and to the left of his hairline. 'I think a peppermint cardamom mixture is in order tonight,' and Sheldon nods, recalling that this week Amy is experiencing her menses. A surge of pride swells from deep within his chest that she knows which teas would ease her physical discomforts. As he hands her the drink, two paper tabs dangling from the back, he can't help but fixate on her hands wrapped around the steaming mug. Her fingernails are short, the pale pink polish chipping off. They don't look delicate, but Sheldon knows just how steady and true they are when she's in her lab making mince meat of diseased brains. He finds himself wondering what else those hands could work with such precision and he grows flush, gulping down his own brew and sputtering at the burn, grateful the counter blocks the lower half of his body from view.

Thankfully, when bed time rolls around, it's safe for him to abandon what little privacy the island offers to walk Amy to the door. But his earlier mortification lingers, and Sheldon can tell she senses something off as they chastely kiss goodnight. Little does she know the unchaste thoughts racing one after another behind his bright blue eyes. He gulps as he straightens, offering her a tight smile. 'Goodnight, Amy,' he says softly.

She says nothing in return, thoughtfully eyeing him over the rims of her glasses. A few beats later, and it's as though something clicks. She breaks into a huge, radiant smile. 'Goodnight, Sheldon,' she finally murmurs, turning to leave, but not before shooting a knowing wink his way.

Oh yes, Sheldon wants Amy. There's no denying it. And Amy knows it, too.

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**Author's Note: Reviews birth unicorns and rainbows in a dark and dreary world. (I'd love to know what you think!)**


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